Is the signing of Patrick Beverley with Milwaukee Bucks being overlooked?

February 8th was the trade deadline day. With a lot of movements in the teams' rosters its easy to pay more attention to the bigger names or bigger market trades but sometimes one can get a bit distracted and miss some details, some precise deals that quietly could change the team's course. It's no secret that the Milwaukee Bucks had their ups and downs this season, despite being ranked number 2 in the East. Firing Adrian Griffin halfway through the season and playing poor defense made them look less threatening to Boston that the Cavs or Knicks. Is that really the case?

The Bucks won the championship in 2021, ever since they've been really good throughout the regular season but injuries and sometimes bad coach decisions sabotaged their chances of repeating. But this season they shooked the NBA by bringing superstar point guard Damian Lillard on board, to provide much needed scoring in order to preserve Khris Middleton as well.

Milwaukee let go Jrue Holliday to Boston, and that situation improved the Celtics defense and transformed them in a Juggernaut. Lillard's perimeter defense never was a standout feature for Dame, so the Bucks diminished their overall defensive ratings.

But maybe they've figured it out. In a relatively quiet deal they traded Cameron Payne to get Patrick Beverley. Beverley is known for playing with his heart and soul in the defensive end, chasing the opponents guards and sacrificing his body in order to cause offensive fouls.

After his first game with the Bucks uniform, Patrick went to the press conference an share some thoughts about his arrival to Milwaukee.

"Everything happen so fast. I've been playing some of my best basketball since I've been in the NBA. This is the only trade that I was kind of surprised by. I didn't see this coming. I'm fortunate that at this age teams still want me."

"Coming to a contender team, a team that wants to win, that's build to win, I'm fortunate, I'm very fortunate."

When asked about being what this team has been missing, as an aggressive defender and his relationship with Doc Rivers and his great comments about him, Beverley responded:

"Implementing my passion, implementing my IQ for the game in a new locker room. It's not a lot of time to practice, it's not a lot of time. You kind of have to do everything on the go. Me, coaching on the side lines, giving guys some advice might come off kind of strong because we don't have a lot of time, but I'm here to win, I'm here to do whatever it takes."

This perhaps could be the player that transforms the Bucks defensive attitude and elevates them to new heights. We'll see how this trade unfolds but for now, there's a new energy in Milwaukee. Giannis' team is very much alive.